Dielectric Ceramic of Barium Titanate, Lithium Oxide and Zinc Fluoride, a Capacitor and a Process

The present invention relates to a dielectric ceramic composition of ferro-electric nature, with a barium titanate basis, as well as a capacitor using such a composition. It also relates to a process for manufacturing this composition.

Barium titanate based ceramic compositions are well known particularly in their applications for forming capacitors. They have in fact a very high dielectric constant making them quite well adapted to such a use. Such ceramic compositions, well-known to a man skilled in the art under the term "type II", are described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,402,518, 2,443,211 and 3,529,978.

Generally, the ceramic compositions are sintered in air or in a reducing atmosphere at temperatures close to 1200.degree. to 1400.degree. C. When capacitors are formed, such for example as capacitors of the multi-layer type, the metal electrodes of these capacitors are of course deposited on the ceramic material before sintering. Consequently, this requires using electrodes made from precious metals such as platinum, palladium, gold or alloys thereof. These electrodes are generally deposited by silk screen printing.

Such ceramic compositions in their use for manufacturing capacitors present then essentially two drawbacks:

precious metals are required for forming the electrodes, which increases considerably the cost of such capacitors,

the high sintering temperature increases the risks of interaction between the ceramic and the electrodes, which correspondingly increases the probability of defects in said electrodes.

So, attempts have been made recently to perfect dielectric ceramic compositions allowing common metal to be used, of a much lower price, while lowering the sintering temperature of said compositions.

Dielectric ceramic compositions of type II have now been found which, while having excellent dielectric properties, allow the above raised problem to be solved. To this end the dielectric ceramic compositions of the invention are characterized in that they comprise from 90% to 98% by weight of barium titanate, from 0.5% to 2.5% by weight of lithium oxide and from 1.5% to 8% by weight of zinc fluoride.

Preferably, 92% to 95% by weight of barium titanate, 1% to 2% by weight of lithium oxide and 3% to 6% by weight of zinc fluoride will be used.

It has in fact been surprisingly discovered that the new ceramic compositions described above had a sintering temperature substantially reduced with respect to the similar known compositions while having quite excellent electric properties. In particular, said compositions have excellent electric properties when a barium titanate is used in which the molar ratio X=TiO.sub.2 /BaO is less than 1, and preferably between 0.97 and 0.98. In this latter case, as will be seen further on, the electric properties of these compositions are quite exceptional.

Such a stoichiometry in the barium titanate used goes quite against the accepted ideas in this field when it is desired to lower the sintering temperature. In fact, a man skilled in the art knows that usually barium titanate based compositions have their sintering temperature reduced when the stoichiometry of barium titanate is increased, that is to say when an excess of titanium ions is provided with respect to the number of barium ions, so that the previously mentioned ratio X is greater than 1. Generally, this increase is of the order of 2%.

Conversely, it is well known that a reduction in the number of titanium ions with respect to the number of barium ions in the barium titanate usually leads to an increase in the sintering temperature. (By sintering temperature is of course meant the temperature or range of temperatures at which maximum densification of the product is obtained).

In a preferred embodiment, the dielectric ceramic compositions of the invention are such that the lithium oxide is introduced into the composition in the form of a lithium salt capable of releasing it at high temperature. Preferably, this lithium salt will be chosen among lithium nitrates, sulfates or carbonates. In this case, the proportions by weight of the lithium salt will be such that, after decomposition of said salt at high temperature, an amount of lithium oxide is obtained in the above-mentioned range. It should in fact be understood that if a lithium salt is introduced into the starting composition capable of releasing lithium oxide Li.sub.2 O, it is important to count in the weight of the composition only the molar fraction of the salt corresponding to the lithium oxide. For example, if 30 g of lithium carbonate Li.sub.2 CO.sub.3 is introduced into the composition which will release lithium oxide and carbonic gas at high temperature, this latter will only count for ##EQU1##

Generally, the sintering temperature of the compositions of the invention will be greater than 750.degree. C. and will vary between 750.degree. C. and 1000.degree. C.

The process for forming capacitors in accordance with the invention consists then in forming a fire-clay containing barium titanate, zinc fluoride and the lithium salt in the above-indicated proportions then in forming the capacitor in a way known per se, the sintering temperature being greater than or equal to 750.degree. C.

The invention will be better understood from the following non limiting examples:

In a ball crusher is introduced 100 g of a mixture containing barium titanate BaTiO.sub.3, zinc fluoride ZnF.sub.2, lithium carbonate Li.sub.2 CO.sub.3. The lithium carbonate will free lithium oxide Li.sub.2 O after sintering. In the table below, the percentage by weight of the different elements of the composition is given, the percentage by weight of lithium carbonate being brought down to its corresponding percentage by weight of lithium oxide Li.sub.2 O (see above).

The crushing of these different components is carried out in the presence of 150 cm.sup.3 of alcohol by means of 200 g of alumina balls for fifteen hours.

The slip obtained is dried, passed through a sieve and then mixed with 130 g of 3% latex in trichlorethane. The paste obtained is shaped as disks which, after sintering, have a diameter of 8.3 mm and a thickness of about 0.6 mm. These disks are sintered at a temperature of 930.degree. C. in air for one hour thirty minutes. Each of the faces of the capacitors is then metallized by means of a silver paste.

The results obtained are given in the table below, in which d designates the density of the ceramic, R the linear shrinkage, C the capacity and tangent .delta. the dielectric losses measured at 1 KHz at 1 true volt, .epsilon. the dielectric constant of the material, RI the insulating resistance of the capacitor measured at 50 volts and .DELTA.C/C the relative variation of capacity between the value of the capacity at 20.degree. C. and that of the one at the different temperatures mentioned (+10.degree. C. and +85.degree. C.).

The stoichiometry of the barium titanate used is such that the ratio X=TiO.sub.2 /FaO was equal to 0.97, that is to say that there was an excess of barium with respect to titanium.

TC designates the Curie temperature of the material, above which temperature the material is paraelectric and below which it is ferro-electric.

This table clearly shows the variations in the properties of the dielectric compositions of the invention for a given stoichiometry of barium titanate with respect to the proportions of zinc fluoride and lithium oxide used. It can be seen that the value of the dielectric constant is particularly high, allied to very small dielectric losses, and a high insulating resistance.